I have not ran this race (or any other) in a little while and certainly not since my treatments have started, I was eager to give it a shot and set the bar for my Marathon in May. Comox is a beautiful run, a true out and back with a gradual climb for most of the out and a gradual decent for most of the way back except for a flat straight section about 3KM from the finish that always seems to make me struggle a bit; I have not done much speed work and have been taking a cautious approach in my training to avoid injury so I had no idea of what I could do on the day. My best at the distance is 1:29 and on this course a 1:31 in 2011 & and again in 2012, I decided I would shoot for a 1:45 or better if I could manage. My plan was to go out at a 4:45 per KM for as long as I could hold it or until the half-way point then try to pick it up for the downhill return and if that went well I would see myself running 4:30's for the return.
Each KM marker was a welcomed site as I did not feel all that confident at the start of the race and had no idea what the chemo from Friday had in-store for me, I was looking forward to the 8KM marker as that would indicate to me how the rest of the race would go, I reached the slope of the long hill and psyched myself for the climb, pushed up the hill and straight into the vacant port-a-potty at the top; no details here but a couple of minutes later I was back on the course and trying to hold the pace and stick to the plan. I was able to pick it up slightly for the 9th and 10th KM and at the half way point I was there in 51:30 bang on target for my 1:45 finish, now let's see if I can pick it up at all.
The next few KM were downhill and I was able to get my legs going and they actually didn't seem to mind. Soon I was running quickly and passing folks on the way. It is always great on out-and-backs to see fellow runners heading towards you and spotting those you know to exchange a high-five or shout words of encouragement; today was no exception as I spotted Lori coming we did both, and she was looking strong and determined!
The rest of the race seemed to go fairly well and I focused on sticking to a pace that was near 4:30 and any time I felt like I was wavering in my pace I encouraged another runner and picked up my pace; if you want to run faster, you need to run faster. The entire time I was thinking "imagine how good I would feel if I hadn't just had chemo!" and "take that cancer, I am back!"
The finish was just ahead and I was pretty much done I tapped into the little reserves I had left and made it across the line in a 1:37:01, only 6 minutes off of my course best so I am very happy! Lori also came close to her course best and had a fantastic race as did our friends, so a great day of racing for all.
Lori came in 9th for her age group and I actually placed 10th in mine, a little icing on the cake!!
Here are the splits off my watch if you are interested...
